In those immemorial times, when botanists were not yet subject to the desire to classify all vegetation growing on Earth, there was either a shrub or strawberry grass. She was known as fragaria, which in Latin meant "fragrant." Over time, it has been divided into species such as wild strawberry (Fragaria moschata), wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca), eastern strawberry (Fragaria orientalis) and wild strawberry (Fragaria colliana). At the same time, dioecious strawberries, i.e., those in which the female and male flowers are located on different bushes, were called strawberries . The round shape of the berries of this species gave it the name: club - ball - nodule - strawberry.
History tour
Somewhere at the beginning of the XVII century. from the eastern part of North America to the territory of Europe brought meadow strawberries, later called virgin (Fragaria virginiana). A century later, the Frenchman A. Frezier brought to Europe from Chile several bushes of wild strawberries (Fragaria chiloensis) unprecedented until then with sweet fragrant berries of light pink color. One of the bushes was donated to the Paris Botanical Garden, where it crossed with a view of wild strawberries. As a result of such crossing, that garden strawberry appeared, which is well known to us from our personal plots and is mistakenly called Victoria. The name "Victoria" has taken root and acquired the meaning of a common name for the whole cultivated strawberry.
Thus, not every strawberry is strawberry, not every strawberry is Victoria, but the beautiful Victoria herself is strawberry, just like any other strawberry, in fact. In fact, Victoria is a strawberry variety named after the English monarchist person. It was brought to Russia one of the first at the end of the XVIII century, and therefore acquired the meaning of a household name. In fact, over two thousand are distinguished within the species of these varieties! Among them - Alexandria, Baron Solimacher, Yellow Wonder, Lord, Victoria, Zeng Zengan, Queen Elizabeth, Bagota, Red Gauntlet, Festival.
What is the difference between strawberries and Victoria
Victoria variety is characterized by cold resistance and resistance to pests and other diseases. Plants are decorated with wide leaves of deep green color, form large and strong bushes. The berries are large, sweet, fragrant, bright red in color.
Fruits Victoria (strawberry) with a frequency of 1 time per year. On the territory of Russia, the strawberry variety is widely distributed in the southern part, it has been cultivated on personal plots and in horticultural farms since ancient times.
Due to its rich taste, it is actively used in cooking, and the ability to retain beneficial substances for a long time has become the reason for the popularity of hostesses during the conservation period
Soil preparation
Strawberry transplantation begins with the preparation of the land. Plant seedlings in pre-excavated soil. For planting, choose a flat area, preferably with a slight bias to the west. The site should not be blown by the winds, otherwise in the winter there will be little snow on the bed, and the plants themselves will freeze in spring.
Victoria (strawberry): breeding secrets
To ripen the berries on the bushes, as well as to avoid rotting, seedlings are recommended to plant in rows at a remote distance from each other. You can mark the beds with a rope attached on both sides to the pegs, so that the beds will be even and neat. Wells are made along the rope into which selected sockets are planted. For convenient plant care and berry picking, planting is done in a ridge 10-15 cm high.
Experts recommend practicing Victoria reproduction in May, and not in August, when a flowering outlet is planted in the ground.
In order to get large berries in the summer, it is necessary to select rosettes with large inflorescences. Empty flowers are not needed.
The outlet is dug out with a lump of earth in order not to damage the root system of the plant. Thanks to this, the plant does not get sick and quickly takes root in a new place. The first two or three outlets from the mother plant are some of the best for reproduction.
Strawberry Victoria: Description of Plant Care
Victoria (strawberry-strawberry) loves watering very much, for the season it is necessary to water it at least 10 times. To get a good crop, beds with seedlings need care and treatment, namely the removal of weeds in the process of weeding.
It is better to mulch the earth around bushes with straw, sawdust or wood shavings. This technique will save the berries from contamination and infection with gray rot. It is imperative to loosen the soil around the plants, to carry out earthing up if their root system is exposed. Strawberry care consists in digging and planting rosettes with large inflorescences, throwing out unsuitable rosettes with small inflorescences, without inflorescences or rosettes with a stiff root. Following the recommendations of experienced gardeners, every year you and your family will enjoy a bountiful harvest of homemade fragrant strawberries!